In this book on page 201, Stearns talks about the seeming dichotomy between "justification by works" proponents (who downplay the importance of evangelism and promote the work of caring for the disadvantaged) and the "justification by faith only" proponents (who look at the sorry state of the world and determine to save as many souls as possible before Christ returns and He then sets the social-political sphere aright.)
Stearns
concludes, "This dividing of the Gospel left both sides with only
half a Gospel, that is a Gospel with a
hole in it." Let's
try to fill in that hole . . .
The
good
news
Gospel about
Jesus
Christ
(what He did) is that God has come to the aid of us individual sinners who
cannot help ourselves and has given us the "right" to count on
God's grace-based, redemptive love, to be His adopted children, "free
of charge".
The
good
news
Gospel of
Jesus Christ
(what He taught, what Scripture mentions 125-135 times) is that God's
Kingdom has come to earth and "in it",
people who are: (1) poor and helpless;
(2)
victims of unjust social systems; and, (3) denied the opportunity for
health and welfare,
among other disadvantaged
people, have rights. That is, God's grace-based,
redemptive love gives disadvantaged
people all the "rights" that belong in a just and humane
society, "free
of charge".
Both of these, the
Gospel about
Jesus
and the Gospel of
Jesus
are Biblical. Read John
1:12
and
3:16
, and compare those verses with Isaiah 1:17, Micah 6:8; Luke 14:13 and
James 1:27. Their combination produces a
Gospel without a hole in it
and the successful Christian lives comfortably with the tension between
these.
But
the test of whether we really
believe and live by the good news about
Jesus Christ,
that
God gracefully helps us who cannot help
ourselves, is whether we
gracefully enact the good news of
Jesus Christ
with disadvantaged
people in the social-political
sphere. If we do not see our
faith acted out in the latter, then we ought to ask whether we really
believe and live by it in the former.
I
find this prayer adapted from "Rooftops" and in response to
"the voice of the Lord, asking, "Whom shall I send, and who
will go for Us?" (Isaiah 6:8) very helpful in trying to live out
the good news Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Dear
Heavenly Father . . . here I am before You, falling in love and seeking
Your truth, knowing that Your perfect grace has brought me to this
place. Because of You I freely live, my life to You, oh God, I give!
All
the good You've done for me, I lift up my hands for all to see. You're
the only one to bring me to my knees, seeking to share Your love across
the earth, the beauty of Your holy worth.
So
I kneel before You, Heavenly Father, and place all that I am into Your
loving hands for I am Yours. I am fully Yours; dear Lord, have Your way
with me.
Amen.
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Wow! Knowing that that Rooftops song is a response to Isaiah 6:8 makes it even more special!
ReplyDeleteQuestioning My Salvation...
ReplyDeleteHow much do I give? To whom do I give? What do I give?
Money, food, clothing, shelter, spiritual food, prayer for physical, mental, and emotional healing, walking with a brother or sister or unbeliever through brokenness. Everything on the list is included. I do not think one is any greater than another.
What is my motivation? Guilt? A feeling that I have to do more good than bad to earn salvation? Compassion for those in need? A genuine desire to please the Lord to show gratitude because He saved me from eternal damnation in hell?
How do I know that I am saved? By faith alone, the grace of God.
What is the evidence of my faith? The works listed above.
Why do I desire to do these works? So that the world will see how good God is.
By faith I am justified with God. He credits it to my account as righteousness, but by works it is shown to men and I pray that I would do the works prepared beforehand for me to do so that others will see and also call Jesus Lord.